


Fun At Farm Fest

by 1f_this_be_madness



Series: So Shines A Good Deed-Police Partners [5]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 15:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7646365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1f_this_be_madness/pseuds/1f_this_be_madness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The weekend of Farm Fest is here, and Judy has managed to (mostly!) calm the nerves she has about her partner meeting her parents. Nick has promised to be on his best behavior, but based on past experiences, plenty of jokes and chaos are sure to unfold . . . to the sly fox, that's what 'best behavior' means.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Solitary Summons

It's early afternoon on the Friday of the start of Farm Fest, and Officer Judy Hopps had just finished her lunch when Clawhauser hissed that Chief Bogo wanted to see her in the squadroom. Alone. Automatically her ears go down and her mind starts racing; she begins to go over everything she'd done in the past week that the Chief could possibly want to chew her out about. Whoa now, Judy, slow your hoe, she says to herself--something her father always told her whenever she got sloppy with farm work as a kid because of too much thinking--you don't even know Chief Bogo is mad! He might just want to congratulate you on your hard work as the first bunny cop. But if he wanted to do that, he'd make a point of saying it with at least one witness. That was how he did compliments; when he told her she was a good cop the very first time, it was in then-mayor Bellweather's office. The time he congratulated her on closing her first case was at the press conference and later within Nick's earshot. He never wanted to talk to her alone--except the time he'd chewed her out for abandoning her post as meter maid the second day on the job . . . and then again only a few moments after that when she impulsively told Mrs. Otterton that she would find the missing husband of the poor distraught woman. No. No. "Come on, Judy, calm down," she whispered to herself. "Take deep breaths and just deal with it."

"Talking to yourself again, Carrots? You know, that's one of the first signs of insanity," drawls a familiar voice in amusement, and Nick Wilde pops his furry red head around the corner. "You're not still worried about me meeting your parents this weekend, are you? Whoa," he sees her droopy ears and panicked expression and steps out of his cubicle to stand in front of her. "This is way more than nerves about that, isn't it? What's happened, rabbit?" She shakes her head and tries to sidestep, not in the mood.

"Not now, Nick. Chief Bogo wants to see me. In the squadroom. Alone." Her partner's eyes widen and his mouth drops open. Oh, great--she'd hoped that he would immediately assure her there can be nothing wrong. 

"Ooh--nuts. That's not good, Carrots. When was the last time he wanted to speak to you alone about something?"

"Um--after that time I abandoned my meter maid post he, uh, may have chewed me out."

"Not good. But you didn't do anything wrong this week--if the mugging op was bad, that was MY fault--I just got you to go along with it!" She sighed and almost smiled.

"Yeah, but, Nick--I'M the senior officer. I should know when to call the shots and when to stop an operation or stick my neck out." Her partner snorts.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Carrots--that was a good op. I KNOW it was! We both do--no one even got mugged, for crackers' sake! Let me come with you and I'll tell the Chief all about it. Or I'll distract him and you can sneak out of the room before he even comes down on you." Judy laughs appreciatively. 

"Thank you, my friend. But that'll never work. He knows your tricks by now."

"Not ALL of them, Carrots."

"Oh, really?" Her partner winks dashingly.

"Yes, really. How could he? YOU don't even know them all!" Judy feels sick to her stomach slightly--mostly because she is really worried about what the police chief is going to say to her, but a tiny part of her also feels apprehensive about Farm Fest this weekend, and yes, she's also a bit concerned that she doesn't yet know all of her partner's tricks. Nick sees this apprehension on her face, and--rather sweetly, the rabbit thought--comes to her side and puts an arm around her shoulders. "I'll at least walk with you to the squadroom, partner--and if Chief Buffalo Butt starts yelling, I promise I'll come right in there to take the heat." The rabbit looks up gratefully at the fox.

"Really, Nick? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course, Judy. I've always got your back. Especially since you wrote out that flatteringly detailed incident report on the mugging holdup we did." She shrugs modestly as they continue walking down the hallway.

"Thanks, Nick. But that report wasn't a problem--you know how much I like writing them."

"Yep, and I think you're crazy for it, Carrots." He smiles down at her.

"You know you love me, though," she gently nudges him. He nods.

"Do I? Yes, yes I do indeed. And here's your stop," they've reached the squadroom door. "Good luck." He squeezes her shoulders in a brief side hug before withdrawing his paw and putting it behind his back before giving her a nod. Judy swallows and knocks tentatively on the closed door.

"Enter!" booms Chief Bogo's British voice. The little rabbit gulps and looks back at the fox as she opens the door. Nick gives her the thumbs-up and smiles encouragingly. He doesn't let his face change until she enters the room and closes the door. Only then do his ears flatten with the true extent of his worry.

***

"Chief Bogo? Clawhauser said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Hopps, I did. Come closer," he prompts her sharply, putting on his reading glasses and amending the brusque order slightly, "please." He is sitting next to the podium from where he makes the morning announcements. Judy tries to appear confident as she scurries over to stand on the opposite side of her boss's table. He puts down a case file he'd been perusing to peer down at her. "I just finished reading yours and Wilde's incident reports from that would-be mugging the other day," he says gruffly. This is it, Judy fretted. He's going to tell me we endangered ourselves needlessly, or that he knows Nick didn't write his incident report; that it was me. How can I reply to him? The rabbit is so consumed with her possible response that she almost doesn't hear the Chief say, "And I wanted to tell you, smashing job."

"Th-thank you, sir." She sputters dazedly. He's not angry with me! She feels like squealing, but manages to keep her relieved excitement in.

"You led with intuition, and your insights were crisp and clear. I'm also impressed with how well you handled letting Wilde take the lead. Sometimes I've had issues in the past with duos not--erm--being willing to give and take in certain situations. But you and the fox seem to trust each other, and I'm glad of that. Trust in your own is a big part of this job; and the fact that you're a predator/prey team makes that trust even more important." Judy nods solemnly. 

"I understand that, sir. But I didn't really even take the lead on this one--I only followed Nick's. He had the idea to go in and talk. I—um, I was actually planning on using force." The rabbit blushes. Chief Bogo raises an eyebrow.

"Humph. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You certainly aren't averse to getting in a scrap, rabbit. But you have also, I trust, learned how to keep your head."

"No sir. I mean, yes sir. I-I don't mind getting in a scrap, but I'd also like to think that yes, I know how to use my head. And keep it. Nick's been helping me with that," she admitted. "He's really good at the talk, and establishing trust with people. I think I wrote it down in the report, it's all there. But I just wanted to mention it again, in person. He's never afraid to draw animals' attention to him, and he just talks to them until they let their guards down. He's also really good at improvising--a lot better than me, actually. I've got to work on doing things in the moment." Bogo nods and huffs out an amused breath.

"I've got it, Hopps. I see that in Wilde; he's got charisma, too, which is very helpful when working with a hostile or hysterical mammal. And thinking on your feet comes more naturally the longer you're on the job. You'll get better the more you get used to doing it. And working with Nick is also going to be a help in that department, I think." The water buffalo clears his throat, back to being businesslike. "Now, I understand you and Wilde are leaving the city for the weekend, is that correct?" Judy's eyes widen and her ears go up. Oh no--she hadn't asked permission for them to leave! What if the Chief is reprimanding her? What if she and Nick are needed here, and he won't allow them to go to Bunnyburrow for the festival?? In a rushed panic, she blurts out,

"Oh no, sir, that's not necessary--if it's a problem we don't have to leave; there's just this little farm festival thing in my hometown that my parents invited us to, it's really no big deal . . ."

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, rabbit, and take a deep breath!" Chief Bogo waves her off. "You don't need to worry about it--I know about Farm Fest already."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"And us going isn't a problem?"

"Why would it be a problem? Hopps, you aren't locked down on a case, you've already completed enough paperwork for the next three weeks, and this little shindig sounds like it will be a blast." Judy blinks. Did her gruff, reserved boss just use the words 'shindig' AND 'blast' in a sentence?!? As she stares incredulously at him, his features seem to harden again. "I'm even contemplating giving you both the afternoon off so you can head down to Bunnyburrow before tonight. BUT--" he sternly cuts off her impending exclamation with a raised hoof "you have to be back bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing Monday morning. The festival ends Sunday night, doesn't it?" 

Judy bobs her head enthusiastically. "Yes sir, it culminates with fireworks and a parade ride around the town." 

Bogo nods inscrutably. "I see. Well, you and Wilde have my permission to get going--it's nearly one o'clock now, so after you're signed out and ready, you can get home by two. I'll see you back here on Monday. Dismissed." The bunny gives him a salute and an excited wave. She is practically skipping down the length of the squadroom when he calls out, "And, Hopps?" She turns back to him.

"Yes sir?"

"I expect a full report on this excursion upon your return. Oh, and tell Wilde it isn't polite to listen at keyholes. Did his mother teach him nothing?" As Judy swings open the door to reveal Nick's bamboozled face and mirrors his expression with a surprised but ecstatic one of her own, Chief Bogo removes his reading glasses and reflects with amusement and appreciation on the merits of his chosen manner and profession.

***

As Judy and Nick wave a quick goodbye to Clawhauser after signing themselves out and promising to take lots of pictures and bring him back at least one delicious doughnut (or maybe a dozen of them) from the foxy pastry chef, Gideon Grey, neither one can believe their fortune with Chief Bogo and as such can't stop grinning. Nick's tail is high and full and Judy's eyes are the brightest he's seen them since the moment he'd been sworn in as an officer of the ZPD at the police academy and she'd given him his badge.

"I can't believe he let us off so early, Carrots! Even after he was mad at me for listening at the keyhole--how he knew I was there, I don't know."

"Yeah, I thought you said he didn't know all of your tricks, slick Nick! Ha! The look on your face was priceless--I'm going to remember that for a lonnng time!" The fox smiles slyly at her.

"Just like I'M going to remember just how terrified YOU were about going in there."

"Oh please, like you wouldn't have been just as nervous if it was you?" she puffed.

"Uh-unh. Remember what you said to him about how good I am at talking to people?"

"Yeah, yeah, but you can't tell me you wouldn't shrink even a teensy bit if the chief pinned his eyes on you and demanded to know if you were leaving the city!" Nick laughs quietly.

"Uh yeah, Carrots, I can, because it's perfectly normal and legal for police animals to have social lives and engagements outside of the workplace on weekends when they're not on the clock for a case." Judy sticks her tongue out of him for lack of another response. "Wow, that's mature. I'm impressed."

"Shut it, you. All right, here's the plan: we'll both go back to our apartments and grab the stuff we want to bring, and then I'll pick you up with the farm truck in ten."

"Sounds good, rabbit--I'll see you then."


	2. Ride and Arrival, Rambunctiously

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the longest part of my series yet.
> 
> Also for any avid texters, I apologize because I don't really know how text-speak works. Neither do I understand emojis. Whoops!

Nick heads down the street toward his side of the district before turning and yelling "Oh! Should I wear a suit and tie, since this is your parents' and my first meeting? How much do I want to impress them since they think I'm dating their daughter?" Judy freezes, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth for a moment. Yes, she had indeed heard what she thought she'd just heard. And so did the twenty other animals on this particular street, darn it. But that's her partner, always messing around. She decides to continue his little joke.

"A tie will impress them--and it'll PROBABLY be enough to prove that you're enough of a gentleman not to besmirch their daughter's honor since you'll no doubt be sleeping in the same room with her!" His eyes bug out as he stares at her in stunned silence. "On second thought, maybe you also want to bring a host gift so you can soften the shock of your decline to that detail." The fox's shoulders slump and then square as he mouths 'well-played, partner' before continuing down the street to his apartment. Judy chuckles to herself as she enters her own.

***

Her toothbrush and a pair of clothes in an overnight bag, and seven minutes later she's in the Hopps family truck and waiting outside the building that houses Nick's apartment. Judy taps the edge of the steering wheel in impatience as she waits. She tried ringing the buzzer to tell him to hurry up, but he hadn't answered it. Finally, after almost ten more minutes she gets a wee bit worried and takes out her cell phone to send a message.

~Hey, partner. Where r u? Were gonna be late!

Her phone chimes back at her a moment later, and she can HEAR the exasperation in his response:

~Im coming, im coming Carrots. Jeez.

~Didnt answer my qn. Where r u???

~I am buying that dn'd host gift you wanted! Cant find any good wine in this store tho. 

Judy smiles and shakes her head fondly at how the fox had taken her teasing to heart.

~Aww Nick, you care! Im touched ;) but seriously, hurry upp or well be late!! 

~yeah, yeah put it on the bill. Fine! but you know the thing doesnt start til 9oclock toNIGHT, right?

~ >={

~ . . . ok you and your angry emojis win--im just gonna get your mom some chocolate and be on my way.

~ =D

***

Fifty-six minutes, all of her Fleetwood Yak and much of her Fur Fighters music later, Judy pulls into the driveway of her parents’ house. She sees the cloud of dust that rises behind her siblings when they go anywhere as she parks the truck and unlocks both doors. Nick didn’t truly understand what she meant about that on the ride up, as he illustrates by getting out of the truck and turning to her with a,

“Man, that’s a pretty intense-looking dust storm! You think they’re still gonna have the party, Carrots? Because—oof!” He is cut off by the arrival of 275 little bunnies skidding into him and into the truck and into their big sister with shrieks of

“JUDYYY!!! YOU’RE BACK! YAAAAY!!” And the rest are yelling about their parents, and saying hi to Nick, who gulps and flattens his ears from the sheer level of noise. 

Judy laughs and then yells, “All right, guys—everyone let’s calm down,” and then when they don’t, she gets fire in her eyes and hollers, “HEY! EVERYBODY HUSH UP RIGHT NOW!” And her partner knows it’s all over. Bounce bounce boink boink boink skirt screech . . . all of the kids pile up in a clump that attempts to look like order. Their big sister nods and smiles. “Thank you. Now, everyone, this is my police partner, Nicholas P. Wilde. You may call him Mr. Nick.”

“HI, MR. NICK!”

“Hey, kids,” Nick grins. “But, um, seriously Judy—just Nick is fine.” The bunny hefts a bag on her shoulder and smiles.

“All right, hotshot, suit yourself. But if they call you Nick, they see you as a friend.”

“Well, isn’t that GOOD?”

“You’ll have to be the judge of that. Just don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” She pats her first sibling on the head and pushes him toward her partner. “Go and introduce yourselves.”

Nick kneels down to get closer to the little rabbits’ various eye levels and shakes each of their paws firmly. After about the tenth kid he stops saying “hi” and just gives them a nod and a smile. By the thirtieth he is no longer registering most of their names, and by the hundred and fiftieth he decides he doesn’t need to work out his arms ever again.

“Whew,” he gasps out after the last little girl bunny hugs him. “Is that all of them?”

The rabbit slugs the fox’s shoulder good-naturedly. “Buck up, Wilde. Yes it is, at least this time. Mom’s thinking about having another girl, or a few, this coming spring.” 

Nick groans. “You’ve got to be kidding me! She doesn’t already have enough to do with two hundred and seventy-five kids??”

“Two hundred seventy-six, actually,” says Judy. “counting me. And no, apparently not. She wishes she had a baby girl around, Dad said. Apparently I was a really easy baby and she misses that.” The rabbit leans in and whispers, “Truth be told, I think that’s his way of saying he misses me, because whenever he outright says it he starts crying. Oh, hi Mom! Dad!” 

Her parents are coming down the driveway wearing large smiles, but Judy can tell they’re nervous. Nick can tell too, and she wonders if that bothers him—it must be hard, even after so many years, to get used to some people judging you by your appearance. Simply by being a fox, Nick Wilde meets animals who have their hackles up. But hopefully he meets enough others who like him and trust him for who he is; and Judy knows her parents will be some of the latter, once they get to know her partner better.

“Oh, Judy,” gushes Bonnie, hugging her daughter tightly, “welcome home. It's so good to see you! And you must be Nick. Goodness, your fur is very red!”

Nick grins. “Yeah, I was told I could have a career as a stop sign when I was a kid. Fortunately, it didn’t take.”

“Well, you’re a cop, so in a way that’s kind of close,” Judy teased. 

Nick playfully whacks her with his tail gently and then puts out a paw to Mrs. Hopps. “Hi there, ma’am. I wanted to thank you and your husband for inviting me to Farm Fest. I hope while I’m here I’ll be able to taste some more of those fantastic blueberries of yours!” 

Bonnie Hopps twists her paws in her apron and blushes. “Oh, but of course, Nick. We’re glad you could be invited . . . I mean, could come. And Stu can definitely get you some blueberries. Right, Stu?”

“What?” Judy’s father jumps. He’d been frozen staring at the fox until his wife’s voice snaps him out of it. “Uh, sure! And nice to meet you, Nick. A real nice fox. It’s a pleasure.” He takes the younger mammal’s paw for a shake and then almost instantly lets go. Nick doesn’t comment on it, he shakes Stu Hopps’ hand firmly and then steps back so as to be non-threatening.

“You’ve got a lot of acreage here, Mr. Hopps. Good land. This is all your family’s, I take it?” Nick waves a paw around and Judy’s father’s ears go up. This is good; she can tell that he's relaxing a little bit. He can talk for ages about his family's land.

“Yes, we do! Thanks, Nick, for noticing. We’ve had the Hopps clan here for six generations, and sell Hopps Family Produce all around Bunnyburrow.” They start moving toward the house together.

“You ever thought of spanning beyond Bunnyburrow? Because let me tell you, some of that fresh produce of yours would be a sensation in Zootopia!”

Stu Hopps beams. “Really?”

“Really,” Nick assures him. “Everything I’ve had has been the best. I’m a fan of your farm.” He trots back to grab his bag before he forgets about it, and adds as he passes Judy, “And of your daughter.” Bonnie beams at her eldest upon hearing this, who in response rolls her eyes and smiles.

“Oh,” Stu swallows and bobs his head at the fox slightly. “Well that’s sure nice to hear.”

Judy moves up, discreetly elbows her partner in the back, and hisses, "Hey, you think you might be overdoing it a bit in the charm department?" Nick shoots a lazy grin over his shoulder at her.

"I'm a fox, sweetheart. Charm is the best thing I've got. Besides," he ducks under the lintel of the Hopps family's front door and winks at his partner, "I haven't told them any lies yet."

"Good," Judy murmurs back. "Let's try REALLY HARD to keep it that way."


End file.
